We sound like we are in the same boat. What I do now is what works best for me, but I definitely have room for improvement. So far all the applique I have done do not require precision placement, but like you I have several applique BOM's going and one of them requires more precise placement than just eyeballing it. I know of a few techniques out there but I just wanted to see if there was something I hadn't heard of that would work well for me. I did watch the Suzanne Marshall show and it was so so good and so helpful. I will be trying her applique technique out on my next project. I have already tried out her hand quilting(being the typical quilter I have a couple of dozen UFO's) on a quilt I was quilting while I watched her show(talk about good timing!)and I really liked it! I just may be donating my hoop! Anyway her layering technique was one I have never seen. So I will give it a go. I still would like to know what you others have done. I love hear what other techniques are used by my fellow quilters.

I'm still trying to figure out what my method is! I've tried almost every technique I've read about and I still have trouble with small pieces and with inner angles. I'm doing a little better with points. I'm not doing The Quilt Show's blocks because I've already got two other block of the month projects going from other groups, and one of those has an appliqued block each month. I'm going to try to use the techniques from the latest Quilt Show episode when I do the current block, especially for the stems. So far I keep coming back to basic needleturn and I haven't been successful with any of the freezer paper techniques.

CaroleD in the foothills of NW GA

I have taken several applique classes, watched technique videos/shows and I have always learned something new from each session. Since our BOM is an applique block. I would like to know; What is YOUR hand applique method? I will share mine.

I transfer my pattern by overlaying freezer paper, shiny side down, over the pattern and then I trace the pattern with a sharp pencil. I cut the freezer paper pattern out and iron the pattern to right side of my fabric(s). Then I take a pigma pen that is closest in color to the fabric, but still shows a little, and trace the pattern on the fabric, being careful not to run the pen under my freezer paper pattern. I remove the freezer paper patterns and then I trim a seam allowance around the lines I traced about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. Then I go around each fabric piece and snip into the seam allowance with my scissors cutting toward my traced line about every 1/8 to 1/4 inch. I try to get as close to the line as I can without cutting the line. Finally I lay out the whole block and get a feel for how it all goes together. Once I have it the way I like it, I take away all but the bottom layer. I glue baste the bottom piece to the background using scant tiny dots of glue. I always make sure my background is several inches bigger on all sides than what my finished block will be. Applique shrinks background pieces! Then I sew it on by hand(don't know the name of the stitch, just a traditional applique stitch I guess). Once I am finished with the bottom layer, I lay everything out again. See if I need to correct the bottom layer and then I take away everything again except the next layer, glue baste it, and sew it on. When I have a lot of layers, sometimes I will take the layers that will only be appliqued to another applique piece and put those together first. For example on my Monsters quilt I am making I put together their mouths first because they are going to be appliqued to the monster and not the back ground. Hopefully I did not miss a step.

I specifically would love to know how you lay out your layers. I have heard of cutting a large freezer bag or buying a piece of plastic and tracing you pattern on that and using it as a guide for laying out your pieces, but I have never tried it. I thought of trying to tape the pattern to a light box or piece of plexiglass with a lamp underneath(see Alex Anderson's blog on marking a quilt for quilting to see her set up) and laying the pieces out that way, obviously not as accurate as the overlay, but better than my eyeballing method. I have not had a chance to watch the latest show that has been posted on applique, I look forward to seeing what she does. I also look forward to seeing what YOU do!

Happy Quilting!